Author's Note: This story contains direct reference to the act of incest and child rape. This is a response to the overwhelming level of unreported violence against children in this country today. One child who finds their voice can start a revolution of change.
In Light of His Confession
The sun was bright as the pair walked into the large house on Prescott Street. Melinda led the way up the stairs to her bedroom, her companion hot on her heels. They scurried into the room and Melinda closed the door.
"Won't your mom get mad that we don't tell her we got home?" James asked as he sat down on Melinda's bed.
"Nah," his friend replied as she spun around in the chair by her desk.
The two fell into silence as James contemplated the carpet at his feet. He liked going over to Melinda's house. Her family was nice to him and they didn't mind if he stayed for dinner.
"Do you want to do math homework?" Melinda asked, interrupting his contemplation.
"I guess. I started it in study hall," James replied and they both pulled their books out. Half an hour later a knock resounded on the door and Piper appeared.
"You guys doing ok in here?" Piper inquired.
"Yeah," the pair answered in unison.
"I have fresh cookies in the kitchen if you're interested. I suggest you grab them now before your brothers devour them all," she added.
"Thanks, Mom," Melinda murmured a she sprinted downstairs, leaving her friend mother alone.
"Are you alright, James?" Piper asked, noticing how quiet he was today.
"Yes. I'm just kind of tired from school," James lied. Before Piper could interrogate him further, Melinda reappeared with a plate of cookies.
"I'll leave you two to your homework then. As always, James is welcome to stay for dinner," Piper called as she pulled the door shut.
The two eleven-year-olds munched on the home-made cookies as they finished up the remaining problems. Melinda tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear as she tossed her math book in the general direction of her backpack.
"I'm bored," James muttered after he put his materials back into his backpack.
"We could have a pillow fight," Melinda posited.
"That's so girly," James teased.
"Hello…I am a girl, stupid," she teased back and grabbed a pillow, whacking him upside the head.
"You're so dead," James shrieked and grabbed the other pillow from her bed. The pair proceeded to pummel each other with pillows until Melinda sent her friend tumbling to the floor. His sleeve slid up to reveal a painful looking black and blue bruise.
"I'm sorry," she apologized as he got up. She didn't think he hit the floor that hard.
"What for?" James asked. He hadn't noticed the mark was showing.
"Your arm," she answered, pointing at the bruise. He quickly pulled his shirtsleeve down and turned his back on his friend.
"What's wrong? How'd you get it?" Melinda pressed.
"My brother…hit me," James mumbled, trying to fight tears. He wasn't supposed to cry. Boys didn't cry.
"Why?" Melinda probed.
"Why do you care?" James spat angrily.
"Because I'm your friend and friends are supposed to trust each other," Melinda answered matter-of-factly.
"Fine," James grumbled as he sat down on the bed again. Melinda joined him this time.
"He hit me because I cried," he began, taking in deep breaths.
"Well that's stupid," Melinda muttered. If her brother's hit her every time she cried….well they'd look like punching bags themselves when their mom was through with them.
"I didn't want to have brother time," he muttered.
"Brother time? What's that?" Melinda questioned.
"We…we go in his room and do things," James answered, starting to squirm under the pressure.
"Like what?"
"Sometimes we wrestle…or play football or basketball," he whispered.
"In his room? Don't you break stuff?" Melinda asked, sounding confused. Sure Wyatt and Chris played basketball but it was outside. Mom would kill them if they brought the ball inside.
"No," James replied. His voice barely audible. He didn't want to talk about it anymore. And most of all, he didn't want to cry. He had drawn his knees up to his chest and refused to look at his friend. She tried to lay a hand on his shoulder but she shrunk away at the touch.
"James…what's really going on?" Melinda asked.
"What do wrestle and the other stuff really mean?"
"Sometimes…he makes me take off my clothes and he touches me. And….and he takes off his clothes and makes me touch him…" James admitted, finally letting the tears flow. Melinda was speechless. She had no idea of what to say.
"Other times he pulls down his pants and makes me….suck on him. But the worst part is when….he makes me lay down and he…" he couldn't finish. But Melinda didn't need him to. She could fill in the blanks for herself and she realized that she needed to do something.
"Do you want something to drink?" she offered and through a sniffle he nodded. She hastily headed downstairs and into the kitchen where she found her mother, starting to fix dinner.
"Mom," Melinda called, moving into the room and sitting down at the kitchen table.
"What is it?" Piper asked, letting the salad tongs down on the counter.
"I need to talk to you," Melinda answered, sounding frightened. Piper nodded and the two of them sat down at the kitchen table.
"Where's James?" Piper inquired before her daughter could speak.
"He's upstairs…and he told me something," Melinda replied. Piper nodded for her to go on.
"What did he tell you?" Piper probed.
"That….Jordan does things to him," Melinda mumbled.
"What kind of things?" her mother pressed. She got the feeling that this was not a good situation.
"Bad things," Melinda answered, averting her gaze.
"Ok…why don't you go get James and bring him down here," Piper suggested gently. Melinda nodded and slowly got up. She climbed the stairs and reentered her room.
"Mom wants to know what you want to drink. She said to come down," Melinda lied. James wiped the tears from her cheeks and got up. His legs were shaking slightly but he managed to control them long enough to get downstairs. Melinda led him into the kitchen where Piper had finished the salad. Melinda took a seat and reluctantly James followed suit. Piper joined them and took a deep breath.
"James…Melinda told me about what your brother does to you," Piper began, feeling very awkward.
"Why did you tell her?" James cried out, glaring at his friend.
"Because you were scaring me," Melinda answered, having to fight back her own tears.
"Melinda, honey. I think this would be easier if you went in the other room," Piper instructed her only daughter. Melinda obeyed immediately.
"I know this a very uncomfortable subject, but I just want you to listen," Piper continued once Melinda was out of the room.
"What your brother is doing to you is not your fault," she assured him.
"Yes it is…he says…I like it," James mumbled.
"Honey, it is not your fault. You need to believe that," Piper countered. She scooted her chair closer to his and laid a hand on his shoulder, making him turn his gaze upon her.
"Does it happen often?" she probed as gently as she could.
"Every day," he answered after a long pause. He could feel the tears threatening to fall again. He lifted a hand and rubbed his eyes to try and stave off the flood.
"It's ok to cry," she breathed, wrapping him into a motherly embrace. This was breaking her heart. James was like a third son to her.
"I don't like it when he does it," James sniffled, feeling tears slip down his cheeks.
"Have you told your parents what he does?" she asked after she'd let him cry for about five minutes. Melinda was sneaking a look in from the sun room, Wyatt and Chris behind her.
"What's going on?" Wyatt asked in a hushed tone.
"Jordan does bad things to James," Melinda answered, her voice a little hoarse.
"Like…sexual things?" Chris probed. Melinda nodded in embarrassment.
"That's sick," Chris gasped, having to fight back the urge to puke.
Wyatt suddenly took on a very dangerous look as he headed towards the front door. Chris disappeared in orbs, reappearing to bar his older brother's way.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"To beat the crap out of that little pervert," Wyatt replied. Chris looked at him in confusion.
"I thought Jordan was your friend," Chris stated.
"Chris…he screws his little brother. Do you get how wrong that is…it's got to be illegal," the fifteen-year-old snapped.
Back in the kitchen James was taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves down a little bit. His eyes were red and puffy but he looked at Piper with a grateful gaze. He could sense that she cared about him.
"No…they wouldn't believe me. They like Jordan more," James finally answered.
Piper cleared her throat and stood up. She quickly walked upstairs and found Leo in the attic. He was finishing building a new bookcase for Melinda's room. He looked up and seeing how upset she was put the drill down.
"What's wrong?" he asked, wiping his hands on his pants.
"Jordan sexually abuses James and their parents don't know," Piper answered.
"You're kidding," Leo exclaimed. Piper shook her head in the negative.
"We need to tell his parents," Leo asserted and began to walk downstairs. Before they could reach the first landing, they heard shouting coming from outside. Confused, the couple sprinted down the rest of the stairs. They found Melinda and James just sitting in the kitchen.
"What's going on? Where are your brothers?" Piper demanded of her daughter.
"Jordan showed up…and…Wyatt got really mad at him," Melinda answered. Piper glanced at her husband and they shared a thought. Piper went to grab the phone while Leo headed outside. He found Chris holding Jordan while Wyatt sent punch after punch at his head.
"Break it up," Leo bellowed, catching both of his sons off guard. Wyatt ignored his father and continued to beat the teenager before him.
"Wyatt I said stop," Leo growled. Wyatt immediately stopped. Chris let Jordan go as well. They knew that tone. It said, 'If I still had powers I'd orb your sorry butt straight to your room".
Back inside Piper was hastily dialing James' home number. After the second ring, his mother picked up.
"Hello?" Cheryl answered.
"Cheryl, it's Piper Halliwell," Piper began.
"Oh, hi Piper. I just sent Jordan over to see if James was coming home for dinner or not," Cheryl explained. So that was what was going onside.
"That's why I called. James has shared some very disturbing information with us. Jordan has been sexually abusing him for quite some time," Piper explained bluntly. There really was no other way to say it.
"Excuse me? How dare you accuse Jordan of something so vile," Cheryl hissed.
"Cheryl he's hurting James and has been for years. He needs help but most of all he needs to see the repercussions of his actions," Piper shot back. The line was silent for a few moments.
"How could I have missed something like this? They always seemed so happy," Cheryl sighed.
"James is terrified of his brother. And I can't blame him. I think you need to come over right now. I'm calling the police, someone needs to report this," Piper answered.
"Alright….I'll be over in a few minutes," Cheryl murmured, sounding numb. The line went dead and Piper hung up. She turned to see the two eleven-year-olds staring at her.
"What are the police going to do to him?" James asked, his voice very small.
"They will probably take him down to the police station," Piper answered slowly. How could she tell him he'd most likely have to testify in court against his brother.
"Will I have to tell them what he did?" the eleven-year-old queried sullenly.
"Yes. But they will let you take as much time as you need to tell them," Piper assured him. He heaved a sigh of relief. As long as he didn't have to be alone with his brother, he felt ok.
Back outside, Chris and Wyatt were glaring at Jordan who was trying to stop the flow of blood from his nose. Leo was simply fixing his boys with a stern look to keep them away from him.
"Thanks. I thought he was going to kill me," Jordan finally said, addressing Leo.
"The only reason I stopped him was because I do not need my son arrested on assault and battery charges," Leo answered through pursed lips.
Just then Cheryl's car pulled up to the curb and she climbed out. She aw her son's bruised face and had to fight the urge to hold him. She had to remind herself that she was sixteen and not a baby and that…he might very well be a criminal. As if on cue, Piper, Melinda and James came out of the house. James gripped Melinda's arm tightly as he saw his older brother.
"Mom…what the hell is going on?" Jordan asked.
"How could you?" Cheryl shouted at her oldest.
"I'm so confused," Jordan moaned, feigning a headache.
"How could even think of hurting him!" she shrieked, making Chris shrink back at the shrillness of her voice. Just then the police sirens blared and the car pulled up behind Cheryl's car. Two burly looking officers climbed out. They were friends of Henry's and so they knew the Halliwell children.
"Cops? What are the cops….what did you say?" Jordan howled at his little brother. Before he could even make a move towards James, Wyatt and Chris were blocking his way.
"You're so dead, you sick freak," Wyatt snapped.
"Yeah…you think you're going near him ever again…you're dead wrong," Chris added.
"We'll take it from here boys," one of the officers addressed Wyatt and Chris while his partner placed handcuffs on Jordan.
"Jordan Gallagher, you are under arrest for the sexual abuse of James Gallagher. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you," the second officer stated, leading Jordan towards the squad car. Cheryl looked on as her son was being hauled off. The car sped off down the street and James detached himself from his friend. He walked up to his mother and she couldn't help but pull him to her.
"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry," she breathed. She looked up at Piper and Leo and gave them a weak smile.
"Thank you," she sighed as she led James towards the car.
Six months had slowly passed since that day and the morning paper lay on the kitchen table. Piper sat down with a cup of coffee and picked up the front page. There was a photo of Jordan with the headline "Teen convicted of incest and rape of a minor. To be charged as an adult". She had to smile to herself. He deserved every year in prison he got. She and the rest of the family had been there for James and he was seeing a therapist for the damage that Jordan had caused. But she knew that with time, the wounds would start to heal. And just maybe, other children in similar situations would recognize his bravery and come forward with their own confessions.